Why Can't I Stop Thinking About Her?
by Balto678
Summary: Kodi is attacked by unknown animals. Even after the beating, he's unable to identify them or even if they were dogs or wolves. But they left him to die in the cold. Who should find him but Dusty?


Kodi lay on the freezing ground. Barely able to breathed. His entire body ached. His usual clean coat of fur was now bloody, and covered in cuts, bruises, and bites.  
His leg stuck out at an odd angle too. One glance told kodi it was broken. He shook. Cold and fear overtaking him. Despite the pain he was in, no tears ran down his cheeks.  
Afraid this may be his dying moment, Kodi found himself thinking of Dusty. DUSTY of all people, she was the first person on his mind when he thought he was going to die.  
Kodi groaned slightly in his agony. Short of breath, kodi breathed faster trying to get air into his lungs. But it was as if his lungs had been punctured. He was barely getting any oxygen. He didn't even have the breath to speak or call for help. He was helpless. . . Kodi's vision was now blurred. His stomach rose and fell quickly as he tried desperatly to get oxygen to his lungs.  
Each breath stung painfully in his chest. He felt light headed now. The world was spinning.  
Kodi could barely make anything out anymore. Everything was blurred and spinning. He shook his head trying to shake it off. His vision started to go black. He shook his head again. He knew he was coming close to unconsiousness, if not death. He struggled to stay awake as long as he could.

_Im going to miss you Dusty _Kodi thought sadly. He couldn't even see anymore. He fought to remain awake. If there was even the smallest chance someone was looking for him, kodi was trying to give them as much time as he could. At a final effort to let someone know he was dieing, kodi tried his dads style. He howled. Imagine his surprise when a loud mournful howl rose from his throat. Kodi's ears shot up when he heard a howl return to him. He felt slightly relieved. Someone's looking for me! he thought. He tried howling again but he had nothing left. Kodi had given it his all.  
Kodi's head fell down to the ground.

Dusty came across a lump in the snow."Kodi?" Dusty nudged Kodi "Come on Kodi we got to go home" she said holding back tears.

Kodi grunted at the nudge from dusty. He opened his eyes again. His breathing still hard, He could barely make anything out. But, even in the wind, he had heard Dusty. "Dusty?" Kodi asked couriously. Squinting at the figure abouve him. Barely able to even say that. 2 Syllabuls and he was panting. As hard as he was breathing, he felt like he was barely getting any oxygen at all. To exhausted, he rested his head on the ground. "i can't" He had to stop after this and try to breath. "breath" finishing with his ears laying back against his head.

"Shh..." Dusty said soothingly and placed her paw lightly over his maw to keep him from speaking more. "It's ok, you'll be alright." Though her words were calm and gentle, her heart was pounding inside her chest. She didn't have any way of knowing how long he'd been laying in the freezing snow like this, or just how bad his injuries were (though by the look of him, she had an idea.) She knew she needed to get him to the doctor fast and it looked like she would have to do it alone. "I'm going to get you to the hospital in no time, you just hang on for me, alright? Don't you dare give up on me, Kodi." She nuzzled him and her eyes watered as she spoke, but she didn't allow any tears to fall. She carefully gripped some loose fur and, lowering her own body, managed to gently scoot him onto her back and stand, walking slowly back towards the hospital.

Kodi too was unsure of the extent of his injuries but he knew one thing. He was finding it increasingly difficult to breath. By the pain searing in his side he figured a few of his ribs were broken. While he lay in pain, desperate for help, Dusty's voice rang out clearer than anything. After she told him she was going to get him to the hospital, Kodi couldn't tell much from what was happening. At first he felt a tug on his fur then the snow sliding beneath him. The snow heated up quickly however. Now he lay on something soft and warm.

Dusty struggled forward slowly, trying not to jostle Kodi too much as she moved and further injure him. Her mind was set on getting him to the hospital no matter what, but she didn't know how long she would be able to carry him all by her lonesome. _'Whatever it takes,' _she thought to herself, _'I have to get him there, no matter what. I can't stop. I can't let him leave me.' _With this, she urged her paws to keep hitting the ground in front of her and she said to both herself and to Kodi, "It's going to be okay, we'll make it."

After a few minutes of panting, trying to get the oxygen to his lungs, his vision blackened out again. His head hit her where her neck met her back. Last thing he though was _why is it that Dusty seems to be the only thing i understand right now?_

Dusty yelped loudly as Kodi's limp head hit the area between her neck and shoulders, mainly from surprise and disappointment. She whimpered and thought desperately,_ 'Hold on Kodi, you have to hold on!' _The snow blurred her vision, but she was finally able to see the hospital take shape before her and a smile wider than she'd had since this mess began broke free. She barked with joy and to wake the humas, jogging as best she could without dropping Kodi to the doorstep. She lay him down next to her at the door and began whining and barking loud enough to wake the dead. Combined with her scratching at the door, it was sure to wake the doctor and get him to open the door.

The doctor had just turned in for the night. He'd been exhausted from a whole day of paperwork and was looking forward to a good nights rest. Closing his eyes he, almost the second his eyelids had closed, he heard the loud whining and barking of a dog. "What the devil?" He grunted. His eyes snapping open. He groaned and sat up. The sound of scratching at the door reached his ears. Deciding to see what was going on he stood up, pushing his glasses back on, he opened the door. What he saw took him by total surprise. A dog lay unconsious in front of the doorway. Another dog stood over him. This one must have been the one who had awoken him. She whined and nudged the uncionsious kanine with her nose. Bending down, the doctor picked up the dog in his arms gently and took him back to the emergancy room. This dog looked like he'd taken a severe beating. On first glance, he suspected that this dog had been attacked by wolves. Though he couldn't be entirly sure.

Dusty followed the doctor and Kodi inside the hospital, seemingly watching the doctor's every move. She had every reason to trust that the doctor would do his job right, but she still couldn't help but feel the need to stay right with him and follow Kodi wherever she was able. She sat looking pitifully up at Kodi's still form, snow that had been matted to her fur finally melting and dripping off onto the hard wooden floor.

Approaching an operating table, the doctor set the limp dog apon it. Noticing the odd lump in the dog's side, he decided, the best thing to do was to give this dog an X-ray. For right now, he wanted to make sure the dog made it threw the night. Glancing down at the dog at his feet, he knew that whatever had just occured, this dog obviously cared for the dog. But he knew the dogs, not by name, but he knew they were both on the mail team. Taking out a stethascope(sp?) he put them in his ears then put the metal disk to the dogs chest. The beating he heard told him the dog was alive. But very close to death. Trying not to show the news on his face he looked down at the dog at his feet. "He's okay"

Picking the dog up again, he planned on giving this dog an X-ray. His side was oddly knocked in and swollen. An obvious sign that the bone was either broken, or fractured. But he wanted to be sure of the damage before he began treating the dog.

Examining the X-ray results, nearly 10 minutes later, the Doctor winced. This dog had taken quite a beating. It seemed to have been centered around his ribs that had taken the beating. The Doctor could see that the bone of one rib had been broken and had punctured his left lung. But not one, but 4 ribs had been broken in total. Three on his left side, and the forth one on his right. Though only two had puntured his lung, both being his left lung. The doctor shook his head. If this wasn't a wolf attack, and a mere beating from the dog's owner, then he could be locked away for this. Only one of Kodi's ribs was intact. After the 4 that had been broken, the remaining 3 had been fractured. Basically, it would take a miracle for this dog to continue its running the mail. Among several other injuries the only other severe wound was the dogs right leg. Dislocated AND broken.  
"God help me" The doctor prayed, starring at the results. An operation to treat all this would cost a small fortune. He'd forgotten completely about the dog, Dusty, and hadn't closed the door properly.

At the doctor's first comment to Dusty, she had simply wagged her tail and pretended to act happy and reassured for him, however her gut told her a different story. As badly wounded as Kodi was, it would take a lot of work before he was at the very least 'okay' again. Not to mention the length of time it would take him to recover. They would have to either replace him temporarily on the mail run, or else just run it without him for a little while. She sighed dismally at the thought and lay down a little way away as the doctor took the x-rays and waited.

Just as the docotor finished the x-rays, Dusty rose and trotted quietly after him. Peering up at the black and white photographs, her eyes widened at the various breaks and cracks along the bones. She was no expert on anatomy or health, but by the way the doctor was now acting, she knew it couldn't be good. She whimpered quietly and moved back to Kodi's examination table, laying back down on the floor in order to be near him.

It was at this time, that Kodi's stomach began rising and falling at a brisk pace. Panting. Kodi's left lung had become almost completely useless so now he had to breath twice as much to get the normal supply of oxygen threw his body. But this made it extremely difficult to talk. He knew just by the pain going threw his sides that he wouldn't be running anymore. If he was lucky enough to get back on the team, His dream of becoming lead dog would never become reality now. As far as he knew, there was little chance he'd be able to do much more than walk. The lack of oxygen had started to take its toll on Kodi. His head throbbed painfully. He opened his eyes and looked around. Things were in better focus now, and he could hear something depressing. It sounded like whining. Though, unknown to Kodi, Dusty was laying right below him, it sounded very far off and distant to Kodi.

While he had nothing to do to distract him from the pain he was going threw, he could only think about what life was going to be like. This was only if he made it though. His leg would be ok, all the doctor had to do was snap the bone back into place and put a cast on his leg. But his sides were another story. _I can't live like this. If i can't run the mail, If i have to remain in one spot because im too weak to move. . . _He shook his head. He didn't want the rest of his life to be spent in a dog bed. But even with operation, the amount of oxygen he'd have to breath in with just one lung would be hard. A whin came from Kodi just then. His ears falling down, he lay his head back down. The least the doctor could do right now was give him something to ease his pain.

Dusty's ears perked up as she heard a very small rustle, Kodi's head lifting, and then a whine from his throat. She lifted her own head off her paws and stood in a rush, tripping over her own feet as she did and face planting into the floor. She recovered herself in just as much of a hurry and turned to face the table, just barely able to see the reddish husky fur on top of it. "Kodi?" she whispered, not knowing if it was awake or not, and half afraid she would be disturbing him if she spoke any louder. She didn't want him to struggle just to turn to face her, so she moved around the table until she could see the pink inside his ear and be sure that was the way he was facing.

Hearing Dusty's voice, his ears perked up from their flat position against his head. He heard her fall back to the ground and tryed to think of a way to show her he was awake. But there was little more he could do than pant and move his ears. Just then a stab of pain ran from his sides, up his spine and neck, and straight to his brain. Another whine came from Kodi. This time, a tear followed it.

Dusty looked up at him, trying to make out his face among the various patches of bloody reddish brown fur. A small whimper came from her throat, but as Kodi began to whine loudly, her own whimper increased in frequency and pitch. A pained, desperate look was in her eye and her heart ached for him to be in such pain, pain that he didn't deserve.

The doctor rubbed his eyes. At this hour, he was feeling sleepy, but he had a patient in the ER and in critical condition. While he started to decide the procedure on how to go about fixing the dogs ribs and leg, he started to hear whining. He set down his pen and wen't into the ER room. There he saw the dog on the table, surprisingly, consious and he seemed to be having an extremely hard time breathing. The doctor could see his stomach rise and fall rapidly while the dog whined. Though there seemed to be two sources of whines. The second source proved to be the second dog on the floor. She was looking up, obviously trying to see the pained dog.

The doctor felt bad to the unfortunate dog. As a doctor, it was his job to end the pain his patients experienced. So, taking a syringe and some morphine, he hid it behind his back while he approached the dog. He knew alot of people, and dogs, were afraid of needles and the last thing he wanted to do was cause this dog fear. On reaching the table, he put a hand gently on the dogs side and stuck the needle inside the dog. Injecting the morphine slowly into the dogs veins. "Don't worry, this will end your pain"  
After throwing the syringe away into a recycling container, he bent down and picked the female dog up in his arms. Standing straight up, he set her down on the surface with the dog. "By bringing him girl, you might have just saved this dogs life"

Dusty's eyes enlargened as she saw the syringe. Though she knew it was a medical tool, and nothing really bad, she still had never really liked the sharp things since she was a pup herself. She froze when she saw it and only seemed to relax from her temporary paralysis when the doctor had picked her up and set her down on the table with Kodi. Her tail wagged slowly as he spoke to her and she lay down, curling up into a tight ball next to him, keeping her eyes on him and staying just close enough so that he would feel some of her body heat.

Kodi was barely able to tell the pain from the needle piercing his skin from the pain in his sides. As soon as the needle had been withdrawn from his side, he felt the doctor set something heavy on the table next to him, then he felt a warmth coming from whatever he had just put on the table with him. Courious to know what it was, Kodi opened his eyes. It was Dusty.

Just by the sight of her, Kodi began to feel better. But that could be the morphine flowing threw his vains taking effect. He felt less scared with Dusty right there with him. He wanted to say something to her but he was to breathless to make much more noise than a wierd squeek like moan. But he had no trouble licking her cheek. Because she was so close to him, her head was barley a few inches from his muzzle.

He'd try and show his gratitude toward Dusty in a better way if he made it threw this but for now, that'd have to do.

Dusty smiled when she saw Kodi open his eyes. She would have wagged her tail, but it was currently underneath her belly, or leg somewhere and it would have been more trouble to move than it was worth. Her ears still lay flat on her head and when she heard his squeaky moan, she felt the rivaling urges to both giggle because it sounded funny, and whimper because she knew he was in pain. Luckily for her, she did neither and instead just lay there close to him. She felt his tongue lick her cheek and she smiled once more and whispered, "It'll be okay Kodi, the doctor says you'll be okay. You just need to rest now. I'll protect you."

After hearing Dusty's words, Kodi wanted to say something to her but couldn't. He wasn't scared about getting attacked, well, at least not right then. He was afraid that this might be his final night. It was so hard for him to breath, he was sure he wasn't going to make it. Every pant seemed harder and harder to breath in. _well, if this is my final hours, at least Dusty's here with me  
_He closed his eyes then felt a tear fall down his cheek.

Back in the other room, the doctor was on the phone. He'd decided on the procedure to take and now was putting in an emergancy call to his partner. This operation couldn't be given alone, it required at least two doctors. While he waited for his co-worker to pick up, he had to listen to the ringing. On the third ring, the phone was finally answered. Urgently he tolde the person on the other end to get up and get his tail over here. "we've got a patient in critical condition here, I need you here pronto!" then hung up. He rubbed his eyes while resting his elbows on the table surface. As tired as he was, he had a job to do before he could rest. Looking threw the glass wall, he saw the two dogs were getting pretty close. But the male dog was still panting and seemed exhausted.  
The doctor sighed and closed his eyes. He hoped this operation would work. If it didn't. . .they'd have to put the dog to sleep. . .

Dusty watched Kodi sadly and sighed. She knew that she wouldn't be able to protect him from his wounds, but if she could have, she would have. It was one of those times where she just wished, for once, that she could take all the burden of Kodi's pain, take his place, and let him be the one who was uninjured. But sadly, she wasn't able to do that. She saw the tear roll down his cheek and bit back her own tears. She moved closer to him and licked his muzzle, near his nose. "Don't you leave me just yet, Kodiak. You have to fight."

Kodi didn't have anyway or any time to reply to her this time. Because as she said these words, the doctor had entered the room and walked over to them. Gently he picked the dog up in his arms, careful not to cause anymore damage to the dog's condition, he carried him him threw a pair of double doors into the O.R.  
At the same time, another doctor entered the room. He seemed rather young. The second doctor followed the first into the O.R. and watched him set the dog onto the table. He recognized the dog but he didn't know its name either. Just one look at the dog told him that this operation should have been done alot earlier than now.  
_What happened to this guy? _

Kodi felt his body be picked up again by the arms of the doctor. He didn't feel to happy about being carried about from Dusty, but he was to weak to protest. After a few seconds, he felt his body being set down on a cold surface.  
It wasn't much longer before he heard the doctor say "ok, lets get started. I don't think this guy can hold out much longer"

Dusty whimpered as the doctor came and took Kodi away from her. She knew they had to perform the operation, but she still wasn't entirely happy that she couldn't be near him. Her eyes followed the pair of doctors and wounded husky through the doors of the O.R. and she hopped off the table, landing not altogether gracefully on the floor, but she didn't care. The doors closed after the doctors and she knew that she wouldn't be able to get in, even if she tried. She lay down against the doors, her head on her paws once more and sighed sadly, determined to wait out the long operation.

It wasn't until they had acctually gotten in to Kodi's ribs did the doctors realize just how badly injured they were. It was kinda hard to decide where to start. They started though, with the broken rib that had pierced the husky's lung, then moved onto the others. Kodi was positioned on his back, so that he wasn't putting pressure on the broken/fractured ribs.

After hours of operation, the doctors finally exited the O.R.  
Both of them looked tired. The first doctor however looked exhausted. They both were frowning.  
The older doctor looked to the younger one and said; "we did what we could"  
But neither of them noticed Dusty as they exited.

Dusty had drifted off to a fitful sleep as she lay outside the O.R. awaiting the surgery to end. She had already turned over several times, her nightmares becoming al the more frightening as they shifted to visions of Kodi never making it. She had whimpered once, but otherwise had remained silent and as the doctors exited the O.R., stepping over her, she woke with a start and listened carefully to them.

Her face paled as she heard them talking and her heart started to race. The words echoed in her head, _"We did what we could..." _Her mind was thrown into a kind of whirlpool of sorrow and despair as she realized what these words could mean. She stood and turned, facing the doors and raised up on her hind paws, trying to see in through the window. Her mind was frantic with worry and her breathing was quickened and shallow. _'Kodi...'_

The doctor was ready to turn in for the night. He was so exhausted. The operation had taken so long, it wasn't night anymore. Sunshine filled the hospital with light. It was late morning now. He and his partner had finished with the dog and had left him to rest. He had forgotten about the other dog though, and only when he heard her whimpers did he remember her. He looked back at the doors of the O.R. and saw her standing, trying to look threw the glass window in the door frame. He let out a sigh and walked back to the doors. Pushing them open to let the dog in. Once she had entered, he let the doors swing shut.   
Resting his forehead against the cool glass, he watched her inside the room. Then his eyes looked over Kodi's body. Half of the dogs body was wrapped up in bandages. There was a cast over the dogs leg, which was now back in its proper place. The dog may not be able to use that leg for a few hours but he'd have full use of it once it'd healed. That was, assuming the dog made it.

Dusty dropped to the floor as the doctor walked over to let her and in scurried inside. She looked up at the operating table where Kodi lay, unconscious, she presumed, and still. She sat and looked up at him for a moment or two and then stood and padded next to the table at its base and lay down again. She knew she should stay on the floor now and give Kodi the room to rest. He needed to get better and she didn't want to hinder that in any way. Her eyes closed slowly, though she wasn't sure she could sleep again after the first time.

Kodi was, as Dusty thought, unconsious. He been given a shot that had knocked him out before the operation began. He was, and had been for nearly 6 hours, been in a dreamless slumber. The docters had put some kind of tube thing in his nose, which was now helping him get the needed air. The doctors had hopes that the could would recover enough to not need this, but for the time being, they wanted to be on the safe side. After a beating like that it was a miracle that Kodi was still alive.

Once the dog woke up, they would take him home. It wasn't hard to find the home of mail dog. The younger doctor had suggested they take him home then, but the elder had refused. "we'll take him home once im sure he's recovered enough for his owner to take care of him. For now, let him rest"

Dusty saw the light streaming in more steadily through the windows, but instead of waking her up more it only seemed to make her more tired. She tried to stay awake, her eyelids drooping every few seconds, for she didn't want to have those horrible dreams again. _'I never want to see Kodi leave. Not in my dreams, and never, ever in real life. I just...I don't want to lose him.' _She was startled a little by how strongly she had begun to feel for him, and yet somehow it was completely natural, like it was meant to be. She smiled, liking the thought that they might be meant for each other and could not keep her eyes open any longer. They shut gently and she drifted off into a less violent sleep, the dreams she had had before hiding themselves away for the time.

While Dusty dozed off and the exhausted doctor finally got some rest, Kodi winced in his sleep then opened his eyes. His eyesight was blurry and he couldn't make anything out. He also noticed that the intense pain in his side had subsided slightly. His eyelids closed halfway, Kodi lifted his head. He wasn't having so much trouble breathing anymore either.  
Then he noticed the tube stuck in his nose, supplying him with oxygen. It was an odd feeling, getting air without even inhaling.  
He then felt several patches bound to his sides. Blinking, trying to get his vision into focus, the white patches on his side, mixed with his rust red fur, it looked to him like his fur was changing colors. Apart from this, Kodi was relieved.  
Laying his head back down, he closed his eyes, and went back to sleep.

As the day wore on, Dusty slept and by the time she finally awoke, it was already well into the afternoon. She yawned and stretched, forgetting where she was and opened her eyes to see the O.R. and the surgical instruments all around her. _'Oh, that's right, I'm at the hospital. I guess I didn't realize how tired I really was. I barely even remember last night...or at least what happened before I found Kodi last night.' _She glanced up from where she lay at the table above her, Kodi still lying on top of it. She wondered if he'd awoken and maybe was too tired to move yet. Perhaps he was still sleeping? She wasn't sure, but she sat up any way and then stood on her hind legs, balancing her front two on the edge of the table so she could see him and smiled.

**Kodi was with Dusty, they were now outside. Kodi was completely unharmed and his leg was healed. The cast was gone, his leg completely fixed. He was able to breath nomally on his own now as well. Kodi was walking Dusty home. Once she'd dissapeared threw the dog door Kodi grinned and turned around. Then he saw the vicious black dogs with glowing red eyes glaring at him. The three stood there growling at Kodi, who took several steps back. Then suddenly, all three lunged at him. **

Kodi woke with a start, he was on the hospital table still. Feeling his heart pound in his chest, he noticed a pair of eyes watching him. It was Dusty.  
Lifting his head up he smiled back at her. He didn't know if he looked silly or not with the tube stuck in his nose but he got the impression that that's what she was smiling about. He didn't know if he could talk either but he tried anyway. "Hi"

The word came from his vocal cords, but his voice sounded nothing like his own. It was a very weak and raspy voice.

Dusty smiled wider as he awoke and her tail wagged back and forth happily behind her. "Hey, you gave me quite a scare back there." Her tail continued to wag in that steady motion and she continued to smile. His voice had changed slightly, and sure, he had a tube up his nose, but he was still the same Kodi. "Don't scare me like that again. I don't know how close I'll be to you next time something happens and I can't guarantee I'll be able to carry you here again." Her tone was casual and joking, though the look in her eyes was still somewhat serious, and caring.

Grinning slightly at Dusty's words, he tried to chuckle but apparently his voice wasn't ready for it just yet. He ended up coughing and breathless again. But thanks to the tube, his lungs filled with air again. Improvising, Kodi nodded and and said in a sarcastic voice "yea, i'll try not to make this a habit."

Dusty smiled in response. Same old Kodi, always ready with a come back. "You better not," she teased, but the smile faded somewhat and was replaced by a solemn look. "You really did have me scared there for a bit Kodi. You were so torn up when we finally made it to the hospital and the doctor wasn't sure...he said that the operation you received should have been done long before I was able to get you here. I didn't know if-"

For an instant her eyes locked with his and then she looked away, a mixture or embarrassment and worry on her face again._ 'What am I doing? Kodi probably thinks I'm an over emotional, worry wart now. Good grief Dusty get a grip, you can't feel that strongly for him...Can you? He's just a team mate...even though he has got that cute walk...Stop it! Ahh, just stop talking to yourself, you're making it all worse!'_

Kodi had to admit it, Dusty was seaming a bit too worried about him. He was fine. For now at least, how he would progress in recovering he didn't know. While Kodi listened to her talk he started to wonder _does this mean she cares about me. . .more than a friend? No, you're being stupid Kodi. Your feelings for her are simply friend like.  
_  
After their brief eye contact, Dusty seemed a bit embarrased. She looked away and Kodi could see a hint of blushing from her cheeks. He might have said something to her about it but she seemed troubled about something.  
"Is it me, Dusty?"

Dusty glanced back up and over at Kodi, then back down at her paws. _'Alright girl, get a grip. Pull your head together before you say anything else and get yourself in any deeper.' _This thought in mind, she put on a happy grin and looked back up at Kodi. "It's nothing. But at any rate, the team can't do without you too long. Ralph and Kirby are gonna be complaining up a storm when they hear they actually have to work. Plus, we'll need to be getting back our favorite lead dog."

Dusty winked at him, her tail swaying just barely visibly behind her. She knew just as well as Kodi did that he hadn't made lead dog yet. But she also knew better than anyone else just how fast he really was. Kodi was a no doubt choice for the prize position, provided he get well soon.

Apon hearing Dusty mention the mail team, his ears fell at the same time as his cheeks fell to a frown. He'd almost forgotten about his running. This injury was definatly going to effect it.  
"Dusty, i don't think im going to be able to run the mail anymore."

He knew his lung had been damaged in someway, but not exactly how. Whatever it was though, he was sure his running days were over. He'd only slow them down in his condition and it was guarenteed he'd never make it to lead dog now.

Dusty's grin fell and she watched Kodi's face as he spoke. "Kodi, don't talk like that. You'll be better soon. Once your chest and leg heals up all the way and you go through the therapy the doctor prescribes, you'll be running again in no time." She tried to smile, in order to cheer him up, but she knew it would be to no avail. She wouldn't be able to change his mind about what he could and couldn't do. Only the doctor could do that, but healing him to the best of his ability.

Kodi shook his head at her words. "No Dusty, its more than that. My lungs were damaged during that attack as well. Pretty bad too from the X-ray" He turned his head and pointed his nose at the X-rays hanging on the wall. Lit by a light behind them. He winced, looking at them again. He could see how one of his ribs had been broken and had pierced his lung. He could almost feel the pain in his side again.

Laying his head down he closed his eyes. "My running days are as good as over. . .besides,IF i do get back on the team, ill never become lead dog now."

Dusty's ears fell and her tail hung limply, pointing towards the floor. She looked towards the black and white photos of his insides and it brought an involuntary shudder to her. She turned back to him and sighing, laid her head on top of her front paws. "...I don't think I could imagine the team without you. You always encourage us to do our best, to run as hard and fast as we can so we don't stand the chance of losing our jobs again. It won't be the same..." Thoughts flitted about her head in a dizzying frenzy and she sighed again. She could think of no more dismal fate than to stay on the mail team while Kodi lay at home on a bed. She halfway thought, _'Maybe I should quit too since Kodi can't be with us...' _but her mind barely registered this and so dimissed it for the time.

_"You always encourage us to do our best, to run as hard and fast as we can so we don't stand the chance of losing our jobs again. It won't be the same..." _The words brought a sudden lurch in his back. Then another. He now started crying without holding anything back. He put his paws over his face to hide it from Dusty. He didn't want her to see him crying.  
What Dusty had just said made him realize how much he was going to miss his job. He couldn't see any reason to keep living without being able to run the mail with his friends. With this kind of injury, he'd be taken off the team. He wouldn't be able to leave home anymore. It was entirly possible that he'd be stuck in bed the rest of his life. It was the worst fate Kodi could think of.

Dusty looked up as she felt the table shake a little and then looked to Kodi. She whimpered and then lowered her ears even more. _'Good going Dusty, now you've upset him even more.' _She looked down and whispered, "I'm sorry Kodi, I shouldn't have said that, I didn't want to..." Her own eyes began to well up but she blinked them back. She moved forward and nuzzled his neck fur careful and whispered once more, "I'm sorry..."

Kodi could hear her but he couldn't see why she was sorry. If anyone should be sorry it was those vicious hounds that had beaten him to this. Pratically smashing him flat. Dusty had no reason to be sorry, he'd probably be dead right now if she hadn't found him. He wanted her to know that and to not start crying. He'd feel even worse if he knew he had made her cry. But he couldn't get his crying under control. His back continued to lurch while he cryed. Though Dusty began to nuzzle him, and he did feel slightly better, the tears continued to fall non-stop.

Dusty's own eyes began to leak salty tears as she nuzzled Kodi's neck, but she forbade herself to begin sobbing, to let him know that she was indeed crying. It would only sever to make him feel worse and that wouldn't help the situation any. She whispered in his ear, "I'll find the ones who did this to you, and they'll pay for taking this away from you. I promise. They'll pay..."

When Kodi heard her he did his best to talk to her. He steadied his breathing and looked up at her. His cheeks wet from the tears, he sniffed once and said in a very shaky voice "No Dusty, I don't want them to hurt you like they did me. I don't want to see you hurt too" Then his back lurched again. He tryed to not break down again but he could feel the tears still falling from his eyes. They fell from his chin onto the table and his paws.

Dusty shuddered a little, trying still to hide the tears slowly coarsing down her face. They were dampening his fur as well as her, though he more than likely wouldn't feel them at first. "It just sickens me that they won't get the justice they deserve! What right did they have to do this to you? Who told them to and why? They should pay for what they've done!" She couldn't stop the few sobs that excaped then and she felt herself shake against him as she tried to regain control of her body and emotions.

"It's just not fair..." In her mind, visions of the memories of she and Kodi on the mail team flashed before her. She reminesced on the time the bush plane came to Nome and they'd had to race with Balto on their team to keep their jobs. She remembered how adamantly Kodi had always stayed fateful to her. He'd helped her in some jams and he always seemed to look out for her. _'Am I really feeling this way about him? Or is it just an illusion?'_

At last, Kodi felt himself get control of his body again. Though tears still fell, not quite as fast and rapidly but his cheeks remained damp. Watching the tears fall down her cheeks, it pained him to know he was upsetting her by crying himself. He lowered his head to one of his paws and wiped his eyes forcefully against it. Drying them.  
When he lifted his head back up, he could still fill the dampness of his cheeks, he saw Dusty frowning at him, her cheeks wet with tears. Though he was depressed too, he wanted to cheer Dusty up. He didn't want to ever give her a reason to cry. Leaning towards her, he nuzzled her back. "Dusty, please don't cry"

Dusty tried to stop the tears from falling but only managed to slow it down a little. She sniffled once or twice, trying to regain composure enough to look Kodi in the eye. "It's just not fair...they should never have done this to you. I wish I could've stopped it somehow, I wish I'd been there. I wish that it had been me instead of you." Her eyes continued to gaze into his and though there was a determined look there, there was also the affection that had shown itself earlier. "You of all people should be able to live out your dream. And I don't think I'll be able to manage being on the team anymore without you there."

Frowning again at her words, he licked the tears from her cheeks. "No Dusty, you do not want to be in the position i was in. You do not want to have to endure that kind of pain." The thought of Dusty having to experience what he had just made his heart start to ache again. The emotional pain he felt made him toss the thought from his mind.  
Setting his head next to hers, he took another stab at cheering her up. "Don't think about it anymore Dusty. Stay on the team, you don't have to quit something you enjoy now that im gone. If you like, just think that i got tired of running and quite on my own. . ." but the response he got from her wasn't at all even close to a cheerfull one. Her whine seemed twice as bad when this close to her. "Or. . .not, just. .stop thinking about it Dusty. You know something that might make me feel better? You can tell me what you were doing out so late and found me. I've got to know"  
He turned his head slightly to towards her to see how she reacted.

Dusty sighed. In her mind, the thought of being closer to Kodi made her feel better, but even so she wasn't sure she could listen to him and remain on the team. She thought back as he asked her, trying desperately to remember why she had indeed been out so late, but the only tangible memory that came to her mind was finding him, wounded in the snowy lane. She tried harder, blinking to keep her eyes from continuing to tear up and finally said, "I dunno. I just guess I decided to go out for a walk. I ended up walking past your house for some reason, but you weren't there. So I kinda just followed my nose, trying to find you."

Feeling better, now that she wasn't crying anymore, Kodi asked curiously "So, you went for a walk in the middle of the night to find me?" he just wanted to keep her mind off the way he was now and to make sure tears didn't start falling down her cheeks again.  
But he this feeling that Dusty made him feel, was wierd. He'd never felt this way around her, he'd always thought of her as a friend. But these feelings suggested he liked her alot more than just a friend.

Dusty nodded and sniffled one last time. "Yeah. I guess I was just really worried about you. I couldn't find you in any of your usual hangouts, so I decided to search the alleys." Her heart felt like it had screeched to a crawl when she first found Kodi out there in the cold. But ever since she'd brought him back, it seemed to be healing itself, beating a little quicker and with more purpose now. Or was it her imagination? What were these feelings she kept having? And why now of all times was she having them? "I just got really scared for you."

Kodis ears fell while he listened to her. He probably would have done the same thing. But now they had nothing left to talk about. Kodi knew if he didn't do some fast thinking, Dusty might well up into tears again. His mind went over countless topics but all of them seemed kinda dumb to talk about here, and now. In the situation he was in, he knew asking about them. He had nothing left. So he just licked her cheek then withdrew his head back so as to look her in the eyes.   
Nearly the same thoughts Dusty was having were going threw his mind as well. _Could this feeling possibly be. . .love?_

Dusty's eyes had flitted to stare at the table beneath her two paws for the moment. She kept pondering the feelings she was having, trying to confirm their significance._ 'Am I really feeling this way for him? Or was I just worried because he is such a good friend? Why is my mind telling me one thing, and my heart telling me another?'_ But then her thought process stopped for an instant and her heart skipped a beat as Kodi licked her cheek. She quickly raised her head, her eyes finding his and blinked before her face erupted into a blush.

Kodi watched her look up at him in slight surprise, then her face started to turn a slight pinkish red._Blushing? She's blushing! _Kodi smiled at her, she seemed embarresed by what he'd just done, but he knew not why? _could she have the same feelings for me that i have for her? _he wondered.  
Only just then, Kodi realized how awkward the silence between the two were. Trying to break it he cleared his throat. "so. . ."

"Yeah..." Dusty tried to keep the silence from rushing in again, but found it hard to find a topic to begin. All of them seemed dull, unimportant compared to what was happening now. A small smile was still on her face from his lick and her red had not completely left her cheeks just yet. Her tail had begun wagging slowly behind her, despite her efforts to keep it still. "Kodi...Um...Well, thanks." She beamed even brighter and her tail wagged just a little quicker.

Leaning his head down towards hers, he could make out the redness of her cheeks still. And her tail was wagging again. He beamed back at her. With one lick she seemed already cheered up. _wonder what two would do _Kodi mentally laughed at his. Then she thanked him, but he didn't know what for. For licking her cheek? Maybe, he didn't know so he had to ask.  
"for what Dust. . y" he said. Saving himself just in time. He figured now was as good a time as any so he opened his mouth and licked her cheek again.

Dusty's face flushed even more with his second lick and she had to turn her head away to hide it. She giggled quietly and tried to regain her composure, but it seemed to be to no avail. She finally caught herself and then turned to him again. "Oh, for making me feel better." She grinned and then licked his cheek in even more of a response. "And for that." Her tail had lifted and was wagging in a steady beat behind her.

Kodi almost started laughing at the look on her face but, of course, the state his lungs were in. . it didn't mix well. Chuckling was within his limitations though so he started this. Stopping shortly after when she replied, licked his cheek, and started smiling at him again.   
He was mainly glad that she was in a better mood but his mind had gone temperarily blank by the warm caress of her wet tongue. Now wondering if he looked like her, because he could feel his cheeks heating up as well, he forced his face into a smile.  
He knew he had to look stupid and she was going to laugh but that was his goal. No more tears. His mine however was focused on one thing. He kept thinking this over and over again. _What are these feelings for her? Ive never felt this way around her before, not once when i was with her on the mail team. Am i really feeling this way for her?_

Dusty grinned at him as she saw a pinkish color form just barely beneath his cheeks. _'Was he just blushing? Maybe...maybe he feels the same thing I've been feeling lately. Maybe...' _Dusty began to move in closer to Kodi, but suddenly her back legs remembered how much strain they were under and how long she'd been balancing on them and gave way. She hit the floor with a rather surprised look on her face and then began to laugh, standing and shaking herself off. She tried again, this time hopping all the way up onto the table where there was just enough room for her and then she snuggled up close to Kodi, careful not to put weight on his chest. She moved her head next to his and her eyes closed, with a smile on her face.

Kodi made an effort to look over the edge of the table to see if she was okay. He saw her crumpled on the ground, and he was about to ask if she was okay but that cute laugh of hers came from her. Smiling up at him, she stood back up and hopped up onto the table with him. Once she'd curled up with him, he could feel the wamth of her body again. As well as her scent was much stronger now. Taken by surprise, her face came very close to his own before she layed it down against the table next to his. With their faces this close, Kodi could feel Dusty's breath on his face. Thoughts of moving his head closer and touching noses, or even, kissing her.  
Shifting to a more comfortable position, slowly so as to not cause his chest to start hurting again, he lowered himself back down and rested his chin on the back of her neck. Similar to the same place his head had hit when he'd fallen unconsious on Dusty's back while she was carrying him to the hospital.

Now that he thought about it, it must have taken alot of energy to lift him and carry him almost all the way to the other side of Nome. Lifting his head up again, he licked her cheek again. "Thanks" then rested his head on her neck again.  
Closing his eyes, he breathed in her scent, relaxing.

Dusty smiled, her eyes still closed as she lay next to him. Her ears barely registered his words, but even as she drifted off further towards sleep once more, she nodded and whispered contentedly to him, "Any time." Her eyes fluttered open for a few seconds longer after he'd licked her and they locked with his as she licked his nose. They flitted closed once more and she moved her head slightly closer to him, the smile still clearly visible on her maw as she finally slept once more. His scent all around her calmed her and she had only pleasant dreams as she slumbered, dreams of a possible future.

_Maybe she does like me _Kodi thought to himself, feeling her tongue lick his nose. The tubes had been in the way somewhat, but her tongue still made contact with it. He murred slightly and closed his eyes. Right now, he wasn't worred that he might not ever get on the sled team again. He wasn't worried about anything. All he cared about right now, was that he was with Dusty.  
Even as he started to fall asleep, he felt the remaining pains leave his body. Like miraculesly his body was healing itself at unheard of speeds. His heart slowed to its resting heart rate as his body relaxed. Her scent was like some kind of elixir. The more of it he breathed in, the better he felt.   
Finally after several minutes, Kodi finally dozed off. This time, his dreams weren't quite so disturbing. Dreaming about getting closer to Dusty, and possibly. . .kissing her.

_As Dusty slept, visions, hopes, dreams, even fantasies, for lack of a better word, drifted before her mind's eye. Currently, she saw herself and Kodi cuddling on a rather large cusion inside a cozy house. She leaned over to kiss him and as she did, he returned her kiss with the same warmth and love that she'd given to him. She then smoothed the fur on his muzzle over with her tongue and grinned, a captivating, mysterious grin._ In the real world, a small, happy smile was on her face and she buried her nose lightly into his neck fur, not yet ready to wake from such a wonderful dream.

Kodi's dream was more or less the same. For starters, he wasn't anywhere near the hospital. That nagging sting in his side had dissapeared, and those rediculous tubes had vanished. In fact, he was back to his normal condition. Healthy and uninjured. Dusty was there with him. Her neck wrapped around his, nuzzling him. Running her muzzle threw his neck fur. He couldn't hold back a murr and his tongue flicked out, licking her neck.

When the two took a step from each other, it was Kodi who made the next move. He looked over her quickly, flashed her a smile, and stepped back towards her. Turning his head sideways to hers, thier lips met. Her warm lips coming into contact with his own. In reality, Kodi was laying in the same position he'd fallen asleep in. His excitement and enjoyment of what his dream was about was still having an effect on his body though. His cheeks lifted into a smile and his tail began to wag.

Dusty slumbered on into the night again before she awoke from the wonderful dream. Her eyes blinked slowly open and were disappointed with the sight of the hospital before them, operating utensils and other medical equipment surrounding them. Her head turned toward the window and the darkness outside pierced by the lights from homes around. "Wow, it got late," she yawned and then pushed herself up with her paws slowly, carefully so she wouldn't wake Kodi. She touched her nose to his neck softly and whispered, "I'll be back in a little while, Kodi. I just need to go make sure everything and everyone else is okay. They're bound to be worried."

She leapt carefully from the table and padded quickly to the door and pushed it open with some effort. Once she stepped out onto the street, she realized that the snow had stopped and the sky was quite clear, the moon and stars shining brightly. She sighed and then turned and trotted towards Kodi's house to see if any of his siblings were home. She halted outside the door and scratched at it, hoping she wouldn't wake up his humans, just Max, Storm, or Jenna.

Though Dusty hadn't ment to wake Kodi, and true she hadn't disturbed him, her sudden absence caused something to click in Kodi's mind. Awakening him. The first thing he noticed was that her warm and soft body was no longer curled up next to him. Her head was no longer resting against his neck. And, her scent was no longer there. Kodi at first felt sad. Like she'd deserted him. Whimpering he shifted his body and tried to get back to sleep. He hoped she would return, where ever she went. Perhaps she just had to relieve herself. Maybe she was hungry or thirsty so she had left for home.

Where ever she had gone, Kodi hoped she would come back. Now that he was alone, the medical instruments layed out around him seemed a bit creepy. Scary even. Closing his eyes, he waited to hear Dusty return. Well, now he had time to think about this wierd and confusing feeling he now felt for Dusty. _Ive never felt this feeling for her before until just the other night when she carried me to this hospital on her back. She seemed to be acting wierd when i licked her cheeks and nose. She'd blushed both times. Also, she seemed to be less talkative. Normally she's quite a chatterbox but lately, she's more just been looking at me or comforting me. Gosh i feel like an idiot. Why did i have to start crying like a puppy when she was only trying to comfort me. I need to learn to get a grip. But ive never felt this wierd feeling in my stomach before. Normally her touch didn't have that kind of effect on me. Heck, ive never been so comfortable with another laying on me. Dusty, laying on me like that, with her head rested on my neck. . . that's the most comfortable ive been in. Well, that's the most comfortable ive been since ive been on this table._

Bato woke with a start. "Kodi!" escaped his mouth. He was breathing heavily, he had just had a disturbing dream of Kodi getting mutilated in a street corner. Knowing that dreams can serve as guidance, from experience with dreams sent by his mother to find Aleu, he got up. He looked back at Jenna, sleeping in the place that was right next to him. He thought to let her sleep in case this was just a chance dream that meant nothing. He walked out of his boat, took a deep breath, and set off. He was soon in the empty streets of Nome, but what was not familiar to him was a faint smell of blood... "It can't be..." he thought, but he followed the scent anyway. As it got stronger, a new smell mixed with it. "Kodi!" he whispered to himself. Now desperately following the scent to wherever it lead, he half expected to find his dead body. He was wrong, fortunately. He did find a pool of blood in a street corner that by the feel of it wasn't really safe. Still, he found a continuation of Kodi's blood scent. It led him to a hospital. The door was open slightly, so he entered, frantically smelling out Kodi's room. When he did find it, he saw Kodi on an operating table with tubes and wires attached to him. Balto had to know if he was still alive. "Kodi, speak to me!" He said as he jumped on the operating table.

Whimpering, Dusty sat in the snow next to the door, scratching at it again and then barking once in a last attempt to wake whoever was there. Finally, when she received no answer, she grudgingly stood and trotted off quickly, towards the boat at first. Perhaps Balto would be there? But even as she neared the boat, she caught his scent, leading away from it and redirected herself once more, back to the hospital. She began to run, the guilt of leaving Kodi alone, even to alert his family catching up with her. But her eyes caught Jenna's form only feet ahead of her and she had to slide to the left and skid to a halt, to avoid hitting her.

"Jenna! I was just at the house not long ago, but nobody answered. Where're Balto, Storm and Max?" She tried to regain her wind as she spoke. "Never mind that now, at least I know you're here. Kodi was attacked earlier by... well I don't know who attacked him, but they did a number on him. The doctor operated on him early this morning. I would have come and gotten you sooner, but I didn't want to leave him alone." 

Dusty panted lightly and watched Jenna's reactions, then looked to the door of the hospital, which was slightly ajar. Her ears and tail raised in surprise and she took a step forward, then held back, waiting for Jenna's response before she returned inside to see Kodi again.

Kodi felt something jump up onto the table with him. Causing him to open his eyes once again. At first he had thought it was Dusty, but was surprised when he saw the brown form and yellow eyes of his father. "Dad?" he couldn't figure out how he had found him here. It wasn't that he wasn't glad to see Balto, it was mainly shock. He could see the worry in his fathers eyes and he looked over his body. He saw him wince at the sight of his sides. He knew he was going to have to answer some questions, so he braced himself. He supposed that Dusty had gone to fetch his parents. That made since. It explained where Dusty had dissapeared too AND how his father had located him here.

Then he heard Dusty's voice outside, speaking to someone. His mother. He realized it as soon as she said the word Jenna. Well, he knew he was going to have to face this. He knew the moment those beasts had made their first attack, and bit him right in the chest. As soon as that pain had taken his body, he knew he was going to have to face this moment. The next hour or so was going to be of nothing but tears, anger, and explaining. He'd seen enough tears from Dusty and had began to enjoy her company when all of a sudden, she dissappeared and his parents showed up.

He was glad that his parents were there, but it was just the reaction he knew they were going to have that made him wish they weren't there. And also because he had hoped to spend alot of time alone with a perticular female dog. . .

Balto looked down at his son, who was awake now. Seeing the severe gashes on his side, and the fact that Kodi seemed to still be in discomfort, he spoke softly to him. He wanted to save the explaining from him until he had healed more. "What happened, Kodi? I saw the bloodbath in that street corner, and it had your scent on it, but how did you manage to get yourself all the way here? You shouldn't have exerted yourself after a fight like that, I mean, you must have gone into a coma when you got to the door or something. Who was it you were fighting so brutally with?" Balto prepared himself for something with a Steele-like character and his gang of dogs who do his bidding, whatever that may be. "Speak, son. I won't question you...until you recover, that is, but still, I need to know what happened around that dangerous street corner."

Kodi frowned. It was hard enough for him to talk, now he had to answer all those questions? Though this tube thing in his nose did the breathing for him. He could try at least. "Well, whatever attacked me, it wasn't dogs. And i know there had to be at least three of them" He shuddered at this. Remembering their menacing and glowing scarlet eyes. "I didn't drag myself here either. Dusty found me and carried me here on her back. Ive been here with her ever since. Then i guess she went and got you and mom."

That about answered everything so he rested his head back down. He knew his mother was about to come in. And he hoped Dusty was with her. Now that she was gone, he felt a slight bit of fear and panic that he hadn't felt while in her presance. He supposed it was fear that he might not see her again. That he might die here, and Dusty wouldn't be there. While when she had been with him, even if he had died, at least Dusty would have been there.

Balto looked confused, "Hmm,I must have been so focused on your scent that I didn't notice Dusty's, but Dusty didn't take me here. I had a dream that you were attacked, and knowing that dreams can be right, I went out. I smelled blood, and then your scent, which led me to this place." He wondered if Dusty had gotten Jenna while he was here.

Max didnt get up till a little later when he heard movement so he looked and saw Jenna and Dusty so he open the door and walked out to them but they started moving so he followed then when they got to the hospitel and ran up to them and looked at them back and forth "what are you guys here at this time at night..." then he looked at Dusty starting to get worried "..where's Kodi aint he normaly with you" he stay in the middle of his mom and dusty getting more and more worried

Dusty's ears moved around as she heard Max coming up to them and she waited for him to finish speaking before beginning her story again. "Kodi was attacked by a group of...well I'm still not sure what they were. I guess they were dogs. Anyway, they tore him up pretty badly. The doctors had to operate on him early this morning, before the sun was up, but he's doing better now." She bit her lip, unable to say that she had feared he wouldn't survive earlier and then said, "I'm going back in now."

Unable to force herself to say anything more to either Max or Jenna at the time, she trotted quickly back into the hospital to Kodi's room. Storm had already run in and she nodded once to Balto before trotting back over to the table and standing up on her hind legs to see Kodi again. She smiled at him, glad to see his face again, to know that he was still there. She placed her head on her paws on the table and closed her eyes briefly, thanking God that he hadn't left her while she'd tried to fetch his family.

After a few minutes of just listening to everything, he felt the breath of someone upon his face. Then he recognized the scent coming off it. _Dusty!_ He quickly opened his eyes and saw he was right. She had rested her her head near his, on her paws. Glad to see her again, he leaned his head towards hers and licked her nose. "Come on, there's room enough up here for you too"

He scooted himself back so that she could join him on the table again. Even though she'd been gone for only maybe ten minutes, he still had began to miss her. _Maybe i am getting a little attached to her _but he didn't care. At this point, he wasn't sure if he was going to live much longer or not. But he rathered not talk about that. Not right now.

Max followed Dusty in after hearing that , he was sad and hurt for kodi but he was gald he was ok but seeing him like that hurt Max he didnt want to see his brother like that so he walked over and looked at him and asked "are...are you ok now, did they help you" then back up alittle when he said for Dusty to come up so she could get up, he felt so bad for him and wished their was something he could do

Dusty beamed at Kodi, happy that he was still there with her. She nodded silently and then pulled herself up onto the table, curling up next to him as she had before, her head near his. "I'm sorry I left," she whispered, "I just didn't want your family to worry." Nuzzling his chin, she closed her eyes and felt the warmth eminating from his body. It made her feel, at home, welcome in the cold, forlorn operating room; it calmed her.

While Dusty was nuzzling his chin, he answered Max's question. The last thing he wanted was for people to start worrying themselves sick over him. "Yes, im okay right now at least" Then, once the warm soft body that was Dusty had nestled herself right against him, he located her ear and whispered "Fine. Just don't dissapear like that again" Then licking her cheek he felt his tail begin to wag again. Boy, he wasn't exactly being shy right now was he. Max was right there watching. As for the small pup, Storm, he didn't know if he was still there or not. He hadn't head him leave, so he figured he was still there. But he couldn't hear anything from him so he wasn't really sure at all.

But at the moment, his full attention was focused on Dusty. Almost involuntarily his tongue kept flicking out and licking her. Weather it was her nose, muzzle, ears, cheek, anywhere. He even got her lips a few times. His tongue kept almost licking her eye. Causing her to close one eye automatically, and his tonge licking either close to her blue eyes, or her eyelid whenever this happened. She looked pretty cute like that.

Max watched as Kodi had a mood change when Dusty jumped up and he smile at them and said to himself "he's going to be fine" but Max still had a sad feeling for him, but he walked over to Balto and whispered "hey dad, maybe we should leave them alone right now at least till tomorrow morning, he'll be fine lets just let him with Dusty let him relax for now, we can stay in the hospitel waiting room for the night i think..."

"Good idea, Max. I'll just wait outside the door, because I can't bear to not be around Kodi when he's in that kind of condition." He got down off the table, and then as he left the room, a thought flashed into his mind. It was a single word, but it startled Balto nonetheless. It was the word "mates", and then he saw images of Dusty and Kodi flash in his mind. His yellow eyes went wide open, but that subsided, as he thought, "Mabye, but they're young, and that shouldn't happen for some time..." but he couldn't help completing the thought with "mabye..."

Dusty giggled as his tongue licked all over her face, coming dangerously close to her eye and her lips a few times. Her tail began to wag slowly at first, increasing with speed the more he licked her. She grinned and as soon as Kodi had made a long enough pause between licks, she flicked out her own tongue and rubbed it against his cheek several times, then moved over to his nose and the rest of his face. As soon as she'd successfully bathed his face with her tongue, she stopped and simply looked at the effect she'd created. Bits of fur were sticking up at odd angles here and there and she couldn't help but giggle. "I think I like it." Snickering, nuzzled him again, pushing his fur back to its normal position with paw gently.

When Kodi finally got control over his tongue again, the tast of Dusty's fur lingered on it. As well as her fur had a damp look to it. And once she nuzzled him, he noticed it had a wet feeling as well. But oh well, she was cuter than ever. She started licking all over his face as well, giggling at the same time. He got in a few more licks which landed mainly on her neck.

Closing his eyes as Dusty continued to lick him, he began to wonder why exactly they'd broken out into a public display of affection. Balto, Max, Jenna, and maybe Storm were presant, but they were still licking each other's faces like they were the only ones in the room. He knew why he had, and that was because he was relieved to see her. . . and because he wanted to. Maybe Dusty was reacting the same way.

Whatever, her tongue kept flicking out and licking him in much the same way as he had. But then she stopped. He opened his eyes and saw her own eyes looking right back at him. A giggle came from her, as well as something he didn't quite understand, and she put her paws on his face. Almost cradling it. He murred and made an attempt to lick her paw. But, after he missed, he leaned toward her and rested his head on top of hers. Her muzzle buried in his neck and her head against his chin. He could feel the thumping of Dusty's tail against the table next to his own wagging tail. Hers had sped up considerably since she'd joined him on the table.

"Dusty, are you just happy to see me, or. . " Now how did he finish that? Just come out and say 'love me?' or maybe 'do you feel like i do'? He'd just wait and see how she reacted.

Dusty canted her head to the side as Kodi spoke, trying to figure out just what he meant. "Or what?" She raised a brow at him then continued. "Of course I'm happy to see you, I'm always happy to see you." Smiling, her tongue began moving across his muzzle again, hitting the sides of his lips a few times, though she wasn't sure herself if that was intentional. She stopped licking him for a moment and then leaned in to whisper in his ear gently, "Or did you mean, do I feel something for you." She pulled away, a more mysterious, captivating smile on her maw and awaited an answer of some type from him.

Balto couldn't help but overhear, even if he tried to tune out their voices. He felt that this was something that he didn't need or wasn't supposed to hear, or was it? This was straining his head, so he let his mind go free, and it did exactly what it was doing before, it listened to Dusty and Kodi. "Mates?" he thought to himself, "That's bound to happen if this keeps up." He had heard them licking each other, and he remembered how he and Jenna would sometimes do that before they would do something really signifigant in their lives, such as have puppies, but he didn't think they would do _that_ just yet if they truly had feelings for one another. They probably didn't even have the energy to go that far. Well, at least, Kodi didn't. He sighed and wondered how this would end up, and what they would do when Kodi fully recovered.

Max walked up to balto "whats wrong dad" then smiled "dont worry i know kodi he'll be fine" then tilted his head "unless thats not whats bothering you.."then he looked him in the eye "you not worried about Dusty and Kodi are you, how they seem to really like each other mmmmm" then he sat and heard them talking in the room "sooooo dad you listening up on them without them knowing" then laughed

"Max," he said with a laugh, "there are some things that I just can't keep myself from doing. When you're a parent, you'll know that you will find it hard to not do this." He sighed, and then in a more serious tone said, "What worries me is not how they feel for each other. What does worry me is if they try to keep it secret from Jenna or me."

Max looked at him "why would they its nothing to hide , nothings wrong about, so it would be stupid i dont think they would at least i think they wont i'm not sure but still its nothing to hide" then put his ear to the door then took it away "i dont think i want to hear any lovey dovey stuff right now but if you going to keep listening to them you'll hear if they're going to hid it or not"

Max had a point. "Well, they won't be able to hide it from me, now that I'm hearing all this." He continued to listen with somewhat of a smile on his face.

It seemed like he was going to have to finish his sentence. Apparently Dusty hadn't caught his drift and didn't know what he was leaning towards. He deciding what to say to finish his sentance when Dusty decided to continue licking him. He was really surprised when her tongue licked his lips a few times. Intentionally or not he didn't care. He started closing his eyes, thinking she was going to go further up his muzzle, but then she stopped. He decided he'd answer her and was about to say so when she whispered into his ear. After he heard it, his cheeks stretched upwards. Turning towards her, he could see her blue eyes looking straight into his own. He nodded his head a few times and said "Yes" but after a few seconds, he added; "Cause I do"

Balto, after hearing this, was actually relieved. He was feeling tension in the air since he had first heard the conversation between them. He knew that now they both knew that Kodi actually had feelings for Dusty, and he felt tension in his own body release itself. But not all of it was released. He still wondered if Dusty had the same feelings for Kodi... It only made sense if they were both licking each other's faces, and talking to each other the way they were...

Dusty smiled and her tail began thumping against the table again. Now all that was left was for her to admit her own feelings. But did she have the courage to do that just now? "Oh Kodi..." Instead of speaking she licked his muzzle again, this time purposely catching his lips a few times. She nuzzled her head into his neck fur and when it might have seemed she had no verbal answer, she inched her muzzle up to his ear and whispered so that only he could hear, "I do too."

Balto smiled. He had actually half-expected Dusty to say something like that. "Kodi," he thought, "you are one lucky guy."

By her reaction, Kodi had an idea that she might like him as well, but he didn't get his hopes up. Maybe she just thought he was sweet. . . he didn't want to get to hopefull and then find out that she didn't. So, he just waited to hear her say it. He was surprised at how much was going threw his head while she licked and nuzzled him. There was like an endless chain of reasons why she would not like him. For one thing, he was pratically a crippled now. That thought alone was depressing enough, so he just thought to himself; _you still might make a recovery Kodi, the doctor hasn't even told you about the extent of damage your injuries caused. _He just had to remain adament on that.

Then he felt Dusty move her muzzle up to his ear and speak. He couldn't help but smile. He turned his head towards hers again, taking his chances and trying to do something he'd wanted to do for some time now. He moved his head towards hers, tilting it to the side. But before he could get any closer to her, the doors opened and one of the doctors that had done his surgery came in. Causing Kodi to turn his head away from Dusty and look at the human. He came over to them and before doing anything, picked up Dusty and placed her on the floor.  
Kodi had no idea what he was doing, but he turned around and started doing something with those needles that were setting on the counter beside the table he lay on. When he turned back around, he held one of the syringes in his hand.

Kodi had never been afraid of much, but there was one thing he was afraid of. Needles. He hated getting shots. But he didn't want to seem like a coward. Dusty was still in the room. So, closing his eyes, he did his best to remain still. Even when he felt the humans hand press to his side and that sharp, cold, needle prick his skin. It was over before he could even whimper. Only one thing though: What was the shot for?

Dusty had pulled her head away from his ear to see his face after she'd spoken, and for one fleeting moment she felt that her hopes were going to be answered as he moved his head closer to hers, angling it just slightly. But the creak of the door made them both turn and though the man lifted her off the table, she didn't exactly go without a fight. She had managed to scratch the doctor's arm at least once before he had put her back on the ground and she watched him prepare the syringe.

Tilting her head at the odd-colored liquid filling the hollow needle, she couldn't decipher the text on the vial it had come from. She'd never seen that particular medicine being used in the hospital before. Her eyes moved back up to Kodi in concern as the doctor quickly administered the serum without so much as a word to calm him. _'But what's it for? Whey are they giving Kodi more medicine?'_

"We'll give this a couple of minutes to let it kick in."

Kodi heard the mans voice behind him and he could feel his hand scratching him behind his ears, but he still wanted to know what that stuff was for. He was fine right now. The majority of the pain was gone. Mainly due to the shots he'd been given, but still, he didn't need any more medicine right now. The human patted him a few gentle times on his neck before exiting the room. Leaving him and Dusty alone in the room again. He adjusted himself so that he could see Dusty again. Just looking at her, not really intending to say anything, but something came up his vocals anyway. "Erm. . .what was that one for?" 

He'd accidentally voiced his thoughts but it didn't matter. Whatever that was for, as least the shot was over now. He would know in a few minutes away. As soon as it kicked in. Whatever 'it' was.

Balto's pupils dialated at the sound of the injection. "Oh, please," he said to himself, "let it just be a sedative or a pain killer. Please, spirits, Mother, whoever's listening, _please_ let my son Kodi live. I think he has found true love with Dusty, and, and, I don't want him to go before he realizes that."

Dusty shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, watching the man curiously as he left the room. "I have no idea..." she said before she turned to look back at Kodi and then placed her paws up onto the table again. She tried to suppress a light whine, but her eyes betrayed her otherwise calm exterior. "Why would they give you more medicine? They already drugged you up enough. If you could drive, they would have told you not to 5 hours ago."

Kodi nodded, looking down at her paws. What ever the shot was for, he could feel it tingling where the shot had been given. It was probably some numbing thing they gave him. But why would he need to be numb? Was there something they still needed to do? Did that mean they found a way to help fix his breathing trouble? He'd not had to worry about that since the tubing thing breathed for him but now that he thought about it, he wasn't sure what he was going to do once they took the tubes away and if his lungs never healed.

Looking back up at Dusty he shrugged. "I just hope it's not. . . " stopping short of his sentance, he frowned at dusty. She already looked worried enough about him that this had acctually happened to him and he didn't want to add to her worries by filling her thoughts about something that hadn't happened. ". . some kind of relaxant. Ive heard those have a side effect that makes you. . er. . hormonal."

Balto tried not to chuckle at this, as this was a bad time to do so, but Kodi's comment made him laugh. "Son," he said to himself, "You already _were _acting hormonal with Dusty. I thought I told you enough love stories as a pup about Jenna and I to know what hormonal really is..." His laughing died away. Mabye the shot was to make him numb so he wouldn't feel pain when they took out the breathing tube... Balto sure hoped so.

Canting her head to the side as Kodi mentioned being hormonal, she giggled lightly and shook her head. "What, hormonal like earlier?" She grinned mischievously, her tail wagging once with the joke and then nudged him gently on the side of his neck. "I think you'll be okay. They're doctors, not murderers, so I guess they know what they're doing." She smiled lightly, putting on a brave face and trying to be optimistic. She knew that there were drugs that would force both dogs and cats to go to sleep and never wake up again, but they never let other animals in the room when they gave those kinds of shots. Surely they wouldn't have made an exception in this case either. The odds were strong that it was indeed just some kind of numbing medication for another procedure they would perform.

"I was meaning something a bit more serious than just, er, licking." He tried not to look at her when he said this, he was beginning to wish he'd thought of something else. Now he was uncomfortable on this topic. Thankfully, Dusty got off it. She must have been trying to convince herself more than anything that what that shot was, was not to put him down. Kodi had known that if there wasn't anything they could do for him, then they would have to give him that shot. He'd just didn't know weather he was making a good or bad recovery. Well, he was in any pain so he kinda figured he was doing okay. Then they gave him a mystery shot and he didn't know what to make of it. After being unable to supress a yawn, he rested his head against the surface of the table he'd been laying on for the last few hours.

"Kodi," thought Balto, "that licking was a sure sign that you were rather hormonal. You'll know when you wake up." Unfortunately, he was also aware of the permanent sleep medications that humans had. Because he knew that, he could not help but subconciously complete his thought with, "If you wake up." That thought disturbed him a little, and he prayed that that wasn't true.

Dusty whimpered lightly, almost inaudibly, and placed her head on her paws near his. _'You have to wake up, Kodi. You just have to.' _She sighed heavily and felt his warmth, felt the closeness to him and it made her feel a little better. She didn't dare go to sleep. Instead she just rested with him and stayed awake, his vigilant watcher.

Balto walked in. "Dusty..." he said. "I'll watch with you. He's my son, you know. So, he shouldn't mind." He walked up to the table and jumped up. He touched noses with Kodi. "He's fine, Dusty. He'll wake up."

The first thing the doctor noticed when he entered the room, was that a new animal had appeared. The female who refused to leave was still there, but another figure had joined them. It was a gray dog. It took him a second to realize that it was Balto. He wasn't sure how he had gotten in or why, but he did know that he had to take the male dog outside. So, without wasting anymore time, he walked the distance of the room to the table, picked up Balto(with some effort. Using both arms) and set him down on the ground. Once he'd removed the cords which had pumped oxygen into the dogs lungs, he picked up Kodi's limp form. He felt a stab of despair for the unfortunate one for a moment before he turned around and left the room. Kodi, too, took some effort to hold. Even with two arms, the dog still weighed alot. Maybe more than Balto.

With some relief(he felt like he was about to drop the dog), he handed Kodi's body over to his owner. It was his dog. Therefore, since they had done everything they could for him, he was no longer their responsibility.

"Kodi..." Balto whispered. He nudged Kodi's limp body. He could still sense breathing in him, but it was only coming from one lung. He looked up at the doctor with a look asking if he will be all right. He worried for Kodi. He was his son...

Dusty had nodded to Balto, but as soon as he'd leapt onto the table, the doctor came in again and carried him off, returning to pick up Kodi with difficulty and take him over to his masters. She watched the doctor in confusion, then jumped from the table and followed after, determined not to let the unconscious male out of her sight. But why was he handing him over to the people? Surely he still needed to be watched, to make sure his progress was improving?

Not much later that night, Kodi's body had been taken home. Since his owner did not want to upset his family by bringing him inside for them to see, he laid Kodi gently on the porch. He supposed this would be where Kodi would go anyway. The last thing he wanted to do right now, was to tell his family about what had happened. But, of course, everyone had been told about Kodi's condition and everyone was anxious about what the result would be.  
Pulling open the door and stepping inside, he got ready to confirm his families worst fears. No tears fell from his eyes, but he would miss Kodi's presance. It seemed strange that something so full of life could possibly die. 

Back outside on the porch, Kodi's body lay in darkness. No light from inside the building shown on him. His owner had layed him there specifically for this reason. He didn't want anyone to look out the door and see Kodi.  
The wind blew, causing his fur to become ruffled slightly and a few flakes of snow landed on him. He didn't shiver. He didn't shudder. He didn't move at all. No breathing. No pulse. With that last mysterious shot, Kodi had been put down. All the tests and how Kodi had been surviving proved that he wouldn't live much longer once he'd left the hospital. However strong he was, he just wouldn't have lasted. The prolonged lack of oxygen would become to much stress for his body, and it would have shut down on him. It become a chain reaction leading to his heart stopping.

It was better to save Kodi the pain and suffering and give him an easy death. He would be missed, and it would be a great loss to the sled team. So, with closed eyes, Kodi lay there. Never to move or run again. His golden heart had come to a stop. The wind continued to blow chilling winds that ruffled his fur even further and carried more snow onto his pelt but he never shivered or stood up to shake the snow from his body. He was, sadely, dead.

Dusty had followed at a good distance, trying to be sure that the human did not know she was there. But she was puzzled as he set Kodi down outside the door, in the darkness so that none inside could see him. Her ears were pointed in the direction of the man's voice as he spoke to the family, telling them of the tragedy that had befallen them all and she gasped, the pain and realization that she'd been blocking out the whole time coming at her full force.

"NO! Kodi!" 

She ran to him, to the unmoving body and hung her head, hot tears falling from her stinging eyes. She wept freely over him, over the suddeness with which he'd finally come to her, and had now been taken away. "Kodi," she whispered, and buried her nose in his neck fur. How could he really be gone? How could he have been taken from her, when only a few moments ago he'd been full of such life? She couldn't understand it; didn't want to understand it. 

When she heard the human coming back, she gave him one last lick on the cheek and fled, passing Balto in a whirlwind of movement, back towards home and Kirby and Ralph. (Assuming she lives with the two and their musher.) She hurtled through the doggie door, the tears still streaming down her face, but before she could move another step, she collapsed on the floor, her body heaving.

5 months in the making it's finally done!


End file.
